Travel Plans

A woman in nursing scrubs, a slightly overweight man in khakis with some loose papers in his hands, and a man in a floor length black overcoat, black hat and pink scarf are on the elevator with me. One of them has already pressed floor "32" and must be going to the German Consulate just like me. Who is it?

If you guessed the man with the black hat and pink scarf you are correct! I played this little private game with myself this morning and won. Observing different cultural mannerisms is always fun and makes places like the Consulate or airports more interesting!     


The purpose of my visit was to apply for a new passport. Just this Friday, I remembered that my old one expired last fall and I was not prepared for our upcoming trip. Praise the Lord for giving me favor at the Consulate: the passport should arrive in time without a problem and the lady I spoke with agreed to email me the passport number as soon as she orders it, so that I can book our flights and seats properly and soon.

Our trip is planned for early March. We are going to spend one week in Leipzig to 1. give Jim and Lina, our new team mates, a chance to visit the city and various churches and 2. continue to network among the ministry leaders of the city. Dave Patty, the Josiah Venture President, may join us for a few days. We plan to travel with the whole family and have my parents meet us there to spend time with Eliana.

We are currently still in the beginning stages of planning this trip and would appreciate your prayers that God would make this time fruitful and helpful. There are several people we hope to meet with and other contacts we have not yet explored. Please, pray for favor as we schedule these visits. Pray also that my passport number would be sent to me soon to allow us to buy tickets before prices go up.

We are excited to make it over to Germany again and hope this trip will serve as an encouragement to both families. In our contact with the German church leaders, we sense their need for more youth workers and are eager to join them permanently. That is still our prayer for this year, and we would love to have you join us in this plea before the Lord! 

It's A Girl

the set-up to reveal the baby's gender to Joel:

and the note Eliana brought him first:

Welcoming New Team Mates

Just this Monday we received a phone call from JV's Vice President, Mel Ellenwood, informing us that Josiah Venture Germany has just gained new team members.

We met Jim and Lina Miller several weeks ago as they met with us in their role as Member Care Missionaries for Josiah Venture's "B-Team" (Barnabas Team). Towards the end of this encouraging time with them, they mentioned that they were still praying about their next step with Josiah Venture and we started wondering...

Yes, they were considering joining our team even then and we are delighted to have a couple like them come to Eastern Germany with us.

Jim and Lina Miller worked with Josiah Venture in the early years after having served with Dave and Connie Patty at Cadence Ministry on a military base in Germany. Back then, Josiah Venture was still a part of International Teams. Jim and Lina spend some years in the Czech Republic before working in International Team's HR department stateside.  They are both very relational and enjoy member care and disciple-making.

Currently, they are serving Josiah Venture as a vessel of encouragement to other missionaries as they continue to raise their full support needed to move to Germany and allowing their youngest son to graduate high school in 2014.

You can read a little more about them on the Josiah Venture webpage at http://www.josiahventure.com/people-and-places/bteam/329.

We are hoping for a joined vision trip to Leipzig in the upcoming months and appreciate your prayers as we get to know each others' gifts and dreams. Above all, PRAISE GOD FOR THIS ANSWER TO PRAYER.

New Years Resolutions

Are you sick of weight loss commercials yet? They tend to increase during this time of year, offering opportunities for the numerous people who resolve to change their weight - at least for a month or so.

Joel and I don't really like the concept of NEW YEARS resolutions. After all, shouldn't we resolve to live more like Christ and glorify him during all seasons of the year? However, this year one of our year-round resolves begins with the start of the new year.

I had my last day of work yesterday and am now officially a fundraising stay-at-home Mom. Joel continues to work 20 hours at our church but is no longer involved in the ministry he jump-started last fall. In agreement with the Josiah Venture leadership, we have resolved to spend 20 hours a week on fundraising. That's quite a goal and we intend to keep it year-round!

Dear friends of ours contacted us a few months ago with the resolve to give a very significant percentage of their income to us on a monthly basis starting with this new year. It came at a time of deep discouragement during the fundraising process and not only boosted our monthly total but also our confidence that God can get us to Eastern Germany in 2013.

Would you consider making a monthly financial gift of any size a part of your resolutions this year? And we are not asking for the short lived, guild inspired kind but a commitment that comes from God's calling to be involved in His work across the world. We hope you are giving to missions somewhere and would be honored if you entrusted some of that giving to us and our future ministry in Eastern Germany.

A commitment to pray for us is also tremendously helpful. Here are some ways you can pray for us even now:
- Join us in asking the Lord to send us to Eastern Germany this year!
- Pray for patience, wisdom, and diligence with our time.
- Pray for financial favor with the churches and individuals we contact.
- Above all, pray for God to be glorified in this process and all we do!

Lastly, I hope to leave you with Chapter of Scripture that was an encouragement to me this morning. Meditate on the truth in each line of this Psalm and be encouraged!

Psalm 4 (NLT)
Answer me when I call to you,
O God who declares me innocent.
Free me from my troubles.
Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

How long will you people ruin my reputation?
How long will you make groundless accusations?
How long will you continue your lies? Interlude

You can be sure of this:
The Lord set apart the godly for himself.
The Lord will answer when I call to him.

Don’t sin by letting anger control you.
Think about it overnight and remain silent. Interlude

Offer sacrifices in the right spirit,
and trust the Lord.

Many people say, “Who will show us better times?”
Let your face smile on us, Lord.

You have given me greater joy
than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.